ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 



criticism of the people, all re- 

 fer to the park-like beauty of 



the semi-prairie sections and 

 gigantic size <~^~ some of the 

 forest trees. For confirma- 

 tion of this one has only to 

 consult the journals of those 

 Englishmen 1 who, early in 

 the 19th century, came over 

 to investigate conditions in 

 the English Settlement ( now 

 Albion), in Edwards County. 



In one respect Southern 

 Illinois stands, or did stand. 

 in the very front rank. That 

 is in the great variety of for- 

 est trees and the size to which 

 these grew in the original 

 forests. No less an authority 

 than Professor Sargent. Di- 

 rector of the Arnold Ar- 

 boretum ( Harvard Univer- 

 sity), author of the Sylva of 

 North America, and for 

 many years the first authority 

 on the subject, says, iti a re- 

 view of the present writer's 

 paper on the trees of the 

 Lower Wabash Valley, 2 that 

 "'until some other forest con- 

 taining a greater variety of 

 trees and larger individuals 

 can be found, that of the 



Lower Wabash Valley must be considered the most remarkable aggregation 

 of trees in the north temperate zone." The forest giants are no more, but 

 there remains much the same wonderfully rich aggregation of species on 

 limited areas, and tracts representing the several types of forest growth 

 should be secured for preservation before it is too late. 



In asserting that by proper action original forest conditions can be re- 

 stored, my evidence consists in the results attained on a tract of eighteen 

 acres purchased by me in October, 1906. This property, located on the East 

 Fork of Fox River, near Olney, was originally very heavily timbered but 

 had been cleared and was under cultivation up to within thirty-five years of 

 the time of purchase. After cultivation ceased (from "wearing out" of the 

 soil on the uplands) the land grew up with a second growth which, in 1906, 

 had reached considerable size. For many years previous to its purchase by 

 me the land had been pastured, and this of course prevented the reproduc- 

 tion of tree species or other underwood ; only closely-cropped grass and a 



'Faux, Fordham. Hulme. Welbv, et. al 



-Proceeding of th" l'. S. National Museum. V. 1882, pp. 4'.» 88. 



Gigantic Sycamore (Plantanus occidcuialis). Wabash 

 Bottoms opposite Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Diameter. 15 x 10 

 ft.; spread of top, 134 x 112 ft.; height, 160 ft. 

 The figure on the left is Mr. Ridgway. (December, 1875.) 



